Bernie Sanders Takes Wash., Hawaii, Alaska

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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders trounced Hillary Clinton in three Democratic presidential contests this Saturday, the New York Times confirms.

Former Secretary of State Clinton still maintains a decent delegate lead over the senator, but Sanders is still very much alive in the race, with the contests giving his campaign the momentum and funds necessary to continue on to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer.

The Times reports that “Sanders found a welcome tableau in the largely white and liberal electorates of the Pacific Northwest,” and took Washington with 73 percent of the vote, Alaska with 82 percent of the vote and Hawaii with 71 percent. Washington was the biggest get of the night, with 101 delegates in play.

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Party officials estimated that more than 200,000 people participated in Washington, coming very close to a record set in 2008. Sanders told a cheering crowd in Madison, Wis., that evening, “We are making significant inroads into Secretary Clinton’s lead.”

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As of Saturday evening, Clinton had roughly 280 more pledged delegates and 440 more superdelegates than Sanders. Clinton needs 2,382 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

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As was the case with past wins, the Times reports that the Sanders campaign received a surge of online donations after his victories. Experts predict that the money will go to buy advertising in the delegate-rich and expensive media markets of New York and Pennsylvania, which hold primaries next month.

Read more at the New York Times.

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